Groesbeckistan Inc.

2012-01-26T10:14:00.001-07:00

I'm experimenting, hold on!

2012-01-26T10:05:00.002-07:00

* Spring *

2011-04-27T15:47:00.007-06:00

[INSPIRATION]

[Plants fade white to green.]

[The ocean waves reflect clear to turquoise with the light.]

[CREATION]

Today is amazing, the sun is shining the flowers are blooming and no signs of allergies.

Last week I spent my days with Annie crafting up the new Prana Yoga windows for their grand opening. Wether or not you end up loving the outcome of your work, the process of working a window display is so hands on it puts you into the real artist mood. Getting your hands dirty and thinking outside the box.

That brings me back to this amazing day, I woke up and wanted to work with some raw materials to create something new. I was inspired by the stems of these tulips. We have had a lot of tulips around the house lately and I have been drawn to their stems. They fade in this perfect gradation from white to green, from underground to the sun. Nature is brilliant about not wasting energy when it shouldn't.

Unfortunately I couldn't snap a picture of anyone wearing one...they were snatched up very quick! It's Ok, I will be making 40 tomorrow! I started with 4 pieces of Chroma that we had cut about 3 months back. They are like little pendants for a necklace, I would say 3 inches long.

As I worked with them I started to peel back the color, much like the tulip stem. Pulling color away so that it had the space to create it's own color crescendo. What I continually want to come back to is the inspirations I find in nature.

I love that each of these pieces was designed and cut out by a machine, then from those small pieces I can make each one into it's own unique piece. They will never be the same. Much like the sea glass on the shore, they are worn with love.

These pieces are so cool for summer. Look out for them at the farmers market this summer and online.

xoxo

untangled

2011-04-18T13:25:00.004-06:00

A comb made from up-cycled and recycled material. I have designed this product to feel like a stone in your hand, smooth and substantial like you let it sit in the river for a while until the curves were worn to perfection.

These are all hand sanded and take on their own characteristics, especially the colored combs.

(for some reason one of these is showing a bumpy edge up top. That is the smoothest part!? Blame it on photoshop.)

rock candy

2011-04-16T18:02:00.003-06:00

About 3 weeks ago I started working on carving up rings to be cast in silver.

I have been working with a material called chroma. As all of you know that have seen it, your mouth waters in hopes it actually tastes like a block of Jolly Rancher...it doesn't.

It is really mesmerizing. The more you work with it the more you feel like you are actually cutting away to reveal a gem.

On with the funny coincidence of the story. As you can se two of these pictures are rings and 1 of them is an unfortunate ring pop or something that little kid lost while running through the back alley of Olympus Hills. How bizarre that the colors of shattered candy happened to be the exact colors of my rings...I had to smile...and take a picture :)

Enjoy your Saturday night

xoxo miss kanz

words of the wonderful Annie Hawkins

2011-02-18T11:30:00.006-07:00

Listen to Annie, she knows what's up, trust me...

"I feel that the "key" to life is remaining true to your beliefs through all that this life puts us through. I chose the Luna key today because I feel like no matter what arises your beliefs are reflected (like the light on the luna key) through all that you do and say."

We are selling the pair because so often it is another person that influences you and keeps you grounded when things get tough. So, keep one for yourself and give one to that awesome person in your life.

The Luna key is on 18" black roping.

Click H E R E to make this pair of keys yours! xoxo miss kanz

Valentines Day

2011-02-15T13:28:00.004-07:00

[In the making + a delicious beverage on a sunny day.]

[after the install.]

(Some dude from Boulder on campus)

I > H E A R T > A R T

A little V-day installation Annie and I put up yesterday.

We grabbed some boxes from a local business, painted them bright colors, cut them out, wrote sweet messages to everyone and taped them up on a concrete wall by the U of U library.

Viola. It's so simple to make people happy.

Go get yourself some cardboard and start crafting.

xoxo

* P R A Y *

2011-02-09T15:55:00.007-07:00

Today I got back some really cool pieces from the workshop.

THEN I had this idea. Everyday I am going to make something new and original and put it up on the website. When it is gone it's gone and it will only be up for 24 hours. I hope to sell this special piece everyday. That would be incredible if I could somehow make that happen, so please tell your friends.

A B O U T > P I E C E

This piece contains a section of a tibetan prayer flag. It is meant to remind us that all over the world people are praying for all things positive. I have always loved these flags. When I see them on a building or strung up on someone's front porch, I always take note if it. Without fail. Traditionally the flag is meant to wave in the wind and each time it does prayers are released into the world. When the fabric is all tattered and faded, the prayers are gone and a new string is put up in it's place to start the process again.

I wanted to remind myself of that process, allowing the wind to be useful, it's only job apparently isn't to annoy me when I am wearing lipgloss and my hair is down...please, tell me you know what I am talking about. It is a force that can be harnessed to release anything you can image.

I will leave you with this. xo

"My greatest weapon is mute prayer"

-Mahatma Gandhi-

To purchase the piece of the day click the link below.

www.ambreindustries.com

* hearts all around *

2011-02-03T14:31:00.002-07:00

Today I worked with lots of wire, it was irritating to be honest. But you know what, that's ok. On my break I decided I would make something from the scraps since they were garbage-bound anyway. One of the pieces sort of looked like a heart so I helped it along and added an arrow...It is the month of love you know.

After work I stopped over for a latte at my most favorite little tea and coffee shop with Lauren in downtown SLC, The Rose Cafe. "Would you like maple syrup in that latte?" umm hell0, yes, that's how cool they are. Not to mention the place is super cool inside, yall should go check it out if you are ever around the pioneer park/Artspace area.

A couple of heart projects a day keep the sad January blues away :)

xoxo Kanz

* planting a seed...will it grow *

2011-01-31T08:54:00.004-07:00

*Chroma neckware*

*LOVE x 2*

*dew drop and seaweed earware*

*Cuff wristware*

MONDAY> MORNING>MUSINGS>

One of the reasons I have neglected to post recent work is due to this seed I have planted. In August I had the opportunity to try to start a jewelry business using a really neat material called 3form.

It has been a crazy ride for sure. I have never been involved in seeing something like this come from nothing. I love to create things, make things, see ideas realized but I often feel very overwhelmed when it comes to putting all the pieces together.

My goal with my work is to bring something positive into someone's life, whether it is for a split second through a small painting they see or a message they can hang around their neck, like the love tag.

I have never really cared much about the world of fashion and accessories from a consumer stand point, which is why this makes this little venture a hard one.

Do you think people care if what you make has soul and love, or do you think they just want to look pretty?

I want everything I do to pass through my hands. When you begin to produce so many things that you no longer are part of their creation, how do you keep the spirit alive?

Montana

2010-09-22T09:23:00.008-06:00

Barn no. 1 (16 x 24) acrylic with a dash of pencil

F I E L D N O T E S >

life and love in a painting:

After a few weeks up in the Big Sky country, I have realized that I left my heart there...

This painting is of a wonderful barn in an open field that we came upon on our "leisurely" bike ride to breakfast at the Echo Cafe. It was delicious.

It is amazing how much my perspective on color and texture has changed as I have decided to take on landscape painting. Everything has become so vivid. The sky no longer is made up of just blue and white but instead is now grays, pinks, blues, and greens all in one, even on a sunny day.

I remember being young and watching Bob Ross paint. He was always talking about a happy little tree here and a happy little bush there. I used to chuckle and think he was kind of a whack job. Now I understand. The joy you get from painting nature is divine.

2010-08-12T07:52:00.000-06:00

Off to Montana! Enjoy your day!

Saturday

2010-08-07T18:12:00.004-06:00

A R T > S E X >

From art comes art

It has been a great week making work. This is my newest painting finished and framed up today! I finally took the time to clean up the studio this afternoon and in my scraping, scrubbing and scrapping, I realized yet again how beautiful the things are that are born out of art-making. This picture of acrylic shavings from my glass palette makes me smile. While I am creating things on a canvas, my actions are creating things all around me. An art garden growing from the mess, just wonderful.

Enjoy your Saturday night! I'm out!

* I get this title from a great TED talk I listened to the other day called "When Ideas Have Sex", it was very interesting, look it up.

Poofs and Paint

2010-07-31T14:45:00.010-06:00

O F F I C E > S P A C E >

useful objects make useful subjects

This painting was commissioned for the office in this Parade Home.

The grid of general office supplies: tape, readers, pencils and the like, creates a nice subtle pattern that works well with the natural greens and grays in the room. Having such a specific room to paint for, gave me a chance to deal with a really grounded subject matter while still keeping it abstract.

Office Space (also featured in first photo)

36 x 36

mixed media collage & acrylic

T H E > I N S P I R A T I O N >

geraniums

I was asked by an interior designer here in Salt Lake City to recreate a piece that I had originally made for Anthropologie. It was exciting for me to take something that we had made on such a gigantic scale, and create something more intimate in a bedroom setting. I looked to the geraniums for my form. The challenge was to create something that felt light and calming while occupying the ceiling space between a contemporary black 4-post bed. I often find it challenging to create things that are fully contained. I always want a trail to dissipate into nothingness. Here the designer asked for something symmetrical and chandelier like. The photos above are the final product. It was a success.

a quick shout out and congrats to Penny Dille, the interior designer. Her team won Best Interior Design, and Overall Best Design in Category. Awesome job.

b n' w

2010-07-21T08:43:00.007-06:00

B A L A N C E >

Lessons in black and white:

I came across these old exercises from my senior studio class at RISD. My degree project was about marks made by humans and where the fine line becomes blurred. At what point is a letter so contorted and washed away that it no longer carries its "letter-ness" or meaning and at what point does an abstract mark take on some meaning through our need to make meaning in the things we see?

The more I got into this idea the more the things that meant nothing were most important and the things that meant something, like a word, I would quickly cut up. Then you think about "well what are you saying by cutting up the words HAPPINESS or WAR or YELLOW" for example. What are you saying then? If the word is at all recognizable, anyone who sees it will try to understand what you are saying. It's a slippery slope kids, I digress.

When you look at a traditional page of words your eye is pleased or displeased depending on the tender balance between black and white that we have become familiar with. By playing with that balance you play with your heart strings. by jamming a page with more black than white, you quickly switch gears, you look at it as a pattern not a piece of prose.

Long story short, Think about this. It's kind of interesting. Then once you've thought about it, go get some ink and some paper and have at it.

www.ubu.com

(check out some concrete poetry here)

food and art

2010-07-20T17:42:00.008-06:00

F O O D & A R T >

from canvas to the plate:

I have always been a big fan of food and the way people play with it. Take chef Pierre Gagnaire, for example. I had not heard of this famous french chef before I opened this months Food & Wine magazine. There was a great article about his life of cooking but the coolest part about it all? Each one of his dishes had been inspired by something unrelated to food. When I turned the page to see this photo staring back at me I got the butterflies, truly. This dish was inspired by artist ZAO WOU-KI a french/chinese artist that Gagnaire admires. The dish is a beet and orange infused daikon with onion puree...yes, I had to look daikon up too. Sounds delicious.

We somehow all influence each other, from country to country, from cooking to art. Just another small way we can connecting the dots.

today, in the studio

2010-07-20T16:55:00.009-06:00

T H E > B I G > D E B A T E >

Do Paintings Really Make Themselves?

These are the paintings I have been producing. I keep trying to make things that are subtle. It's not working. This inability to control what I paint is irritating sometimes. I feel like I am courting these canvases; I go forward, I go back, a walk around, I add color, I have to leave, I keep peaking, I add a mark. Before I know it some painting exists. What is this dance we do as artists, it is stresses me out much of the time. But I wouldn't want to be doing anything else, I suppose. Time to quit for the day, the love affair can continue another time.

and so it begins

2010-07-10T00:49:00.003-06:00

N A T U R E > E N D L E S S M A T E R I A L

A series of adornment created by the landscape:

sun-deprived ivy leaves, waxed linen

Working with nature is a great challenge. My left brain and right brain are in a constant tug-of-war. Objects in your life, such as a leaf, that you have methodically filed into your left brain as a "leaf" are in fact something entirely different to your right brain. My right brain...when given the chance, can see the color, texture and shape of an object. I like this work, it exercises my ability to revel in my right brain, think fast and create with my hands while working with a material that is from the earth. It's free-ing and free, what more could I ask for?

a quick sidetrack

2010-07-01T10:31:00.004-06:00

Today I have been working on a 4' x 4' painting/collage. Here are a few images from the in between time, the drying time. Sometimes while I am working I get sidetracked by little things around me; Bendy carrots in the fridge that are begging to be turned into something, a quick photo of my pile (the hardworking supplies of the day). I think it is important to maintain a healthy sense of sidetrack-ed-ness in your life, it offers you a chance to relax when your work is making you tense and it keeps your eyes searching. Cheers to the small stuff.

kimiko yoshida

2010-06-29T12:07:00.005-06:00

This is one of my new favorite artists. She is actually a photographer but she is obviously a lot more than that. I find her work to be utterly incredible. This is visual anthropology to the highest degree, check out the rest of her work (www.kimiko.fr).

have fun with your food

2010-06-23T15:11:00.003-06:00

Sometimes you have to get creative with what you've got, and not just in the studio. I often find myself looking in the fridge at produce I have forgotten about. I suddenly have to figure out a meal that can combine things that are not necessarily supposed to go together. It's a fun challenge that has potential for you to make something really interesting.

Today it was old wild rice, a cucumber, an avocado, some ginger and a borderline dead papaya.

It ended up being a delicious lunch with hints of sweet and sour. recipe to come, keep having fun!

the mark-makers : camino de santiago, spain

2010-06-23T09:35:00.007-06:00

I just trekked across northern Spain, for a month, with Joel Addams, a great friend and great photographer. We spent each day walking 8 hours in a foreign country along a time-old trail that would win us a free ticket out of purgatory, we figured it was a good idea.

This was a journey of a lifetime. In a way, it was the not so special parts that became special. Nothing was so grand that it knocked you off your feet (well the cathedrals are phenomenal, obviously), but it was the silence being broken by a herd of cow bells on the hillside or the tireless crickets that chirped around the clock. These things are usually missing from my life and that is a shame, but in my control, smile.

There will be more thoughts and photos to come from this trek, in the meantime I wanted to share a few of the things along the way that inspired the mark-maker in me; the great care put into this Albergue advertisement, the Miro look alike, the shredded layers of a billboard in the middle of nowhere, and a door carved with care...translation anyone. glorious.

artist raymond saunders

2010-06-22T16:32:00.001-06:00

This artist, Raymond Saunders rocks my world. He was showing in a gallery close to Union Square in San Francisco. I think he is one of the first artists i've seen that uses a mostly primary color palette but somehow makes it look mature. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but he uses a lot of mixed media and collage to create what seems to be large asian inspired/looking pieces. I am just such a huge fan. Check him out if you are interested, he has a few books I believe...

pacific coast highway adventure pt. 1 - southern california

2010-06-22T16:23:00.000-06:00

Well, Im just going to go ahead and say it's been a bit too long, January, I mean really. The winter proved to be a great one but I am going to get started here with my adventure on PCH (up the California coast) in April. We started in Joshua Tree National Park and ended up north in Chico, passing through happy cow country and one of my favorite cities on the map, San Francisco.

California is truly breath-taking. I had never seen the central California coastline before, I was shocked at it's ability to rival fancy European destinations. Go America, you continue to impress with your diverse landscapes. As always, I was in search of new textures, new patterns and new color combinations...I believe I found them.

* pacific coast highway adventure pt. 2 - central california *

2010-06-22T15:43:00.005-06:00

I will admit that this crazy caribbean looking water is not in central Cali, but it is in Cali! On our way into Joshua Tree we came across a bizarre scene, I think it was maybe a salt farm...if there is such a thing. It was so beautifully aqua in the middle of a barren desert. These are the odd gems you find yourself standing in front of when you get in your truck and drive, it's wonderful. The fern is from the Big Sur area. We stopped to photograph and I snapped some shots of the intricate fern-work, just lovely. Fractals, look them up, they rule nature.

something new

2010-01-02T16:55:00.002-07:00

typographic sand art at the great salt lake

2009-09-28T21:26:00.001-06:00

goodies from work and beyond

2009-09-28T21:18:00.002-06:00

new painting projects

2009-08-23T09:39:00.002-06:00

fall anthropologie windows

2009-07-25T17:39:00.002-06:00

ampersand

2009-07-24T16:06:00.002-06:00

Today I started the series of letters for a new display going up in Anthropologie. This is made of old loom punch cards from the Scalamandre factory. Super cool. This prototype is a third the size they will ultimately be. It is days like this when i really love my job.

new flowers

2009-07-22T21:54:00.009-06:00

I love my new succulent bowl of love and inspiration.

Those pods are actually sour figs. I thought they were a really cool color and shape and when i found out they were figs they became even cooler.

* rubber band installation *

2009-06-23T20:48:00.001-06:00

sketchbook page

2009-06-23T20:39:00.002-06:00

honeycombs

2009-03-28T12:36:00.001-06:00

nyc and the natural history museum

2009-03-08T13:10:00.001-06:00

line drawing of a gigantic prehistoric mammal out of wire.

skyline from the museum.

2009-03-08T13:08:00.001-06:00

beautiful condensation.

thanksgiving flower arrangements

2008-11-23T16:56:00.001-07:00

metal woven reeds

2008-11-02T18:42:00.002-07:00

kaleidoscope book: making order from chaos

2008-11-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

postage stamp series:systems in graphic design

2008-11-02T18:30:00.001-07:00

letterpressed love story

2008-11-02T18:24:00.003-07:00

newest bookmaking project

2008-10-19T11:21:00.003-06:00

gutenburg bible part I (sewn)

2008-10-08T12:56:00.004-06:00

I have been sewing these fabulous books for a private project owned by a bookbinder working in salt lake city. the dimension of the book is roughly 13 x 19 x 4 inches thick. these books were printed in the 1960's by a man in new york city. the pages were bought by a book binder and he is now in the process of completing 1oo books (each containing an old and new testament in separate books).

2008-09-29T14:58:00.003-06:00

good food is also an art. we do what we can to make things beautiful!

lighting

2008-09-29T14:50:00.000-06:00

2008-09-29T14:35:00.001-06:00

coin series i designed for Farm Fresh Rhode Island. hopefully the ten dollar will come out in the winter!

pillowface

2008-09-29T13:54:00.003-06:00

metropolitan nyc

2008-08-09T21:28:00.002-06:00

Groesbeckistan Inc.

I'm experimenting, hold on!

* Spring *

*untangled*

*rock candy*

*words of the wonderful Annie Hawkins*

*Valentines Day*

* P R A Y *

* hearts all around *

* planting a seed...will it grow *

*Montana*

*Saturday*

*Poofs and Paint*

*b n' w*

*food and art*

*today, in the studio*

*and so it begins*

*a quick sidetrack*

*kimiko yoshida*

*have fun with your food*

*the mark-makers : camino de santiago, spain*

*artist raymond saunders*

*pacific coast highway adventure pt. 1 - southern california*

* pacific coast highway adventure pt. 2 - central california *

*something new*

*typographic sand art at the great salt lake*

*goodies from work and beyond*

*new painting projects*

*fall anthropologie windows*

*ampersand*

*new flowers*